New Zealand

Population decline and extinction are often driven by multiple stressors. Since AD 1500, the predicted global extinction rates for birds is estimated to be at least 80-times higher than the long-term background average. Pāteke/brown teal (Anas chlorotis) is a threatened waterfowl endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand, with a current population of c. 2500, spread across two remnant populations and a handful of reintroduction sites. The decline of pāteke since the arrival of humans results from habitat loss and fragmentation, predation, and other anthropogenic interactions.

Loss of remnant vegetation and landscape complexity through agricultural intensification reduces the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects such as pollinators and natural enemies of pests (predators/parasitoids). The Canterbury Plains (CP), New Zealand, is a highly intensified agricultural region that has lost almost all remnant native woody vegetation.

Understanding the key pollinators of rare plants is important for a holistic assessment of ecosystem health, as the impact on a given species can travel through the network, affecting other species. Many specialist calcicolous (limestone-specific) plants are rare. Conservation management plans have been developed to assist in the survival of these rare plant species, but these rarely include information on pollinators.

Although New Zealand’s 2020 biodiversity strategy, Te Mana o Te Taiao, places a high priority on protecting indigenous ecosystems, it provides minimal detail on how this will be accomplished. Using spatial data and a conservation prioritisation tool we demonstrate the implementation of a comprehensive framework for the systematic conservation of New Zealand’s terrestrial ecosystems, as proposed in a pioneering paper by Kelly (1980).

Accurate surveys and monitoring are required to guide the conservation and management of threatened species. Some fauna species that are cryptic or difficult to observe because they are nocturnal, mimic other species, conceal themselves, or can be incredibly hard to survey. Emergence and activity of these species may be related to complex environmental cues including weather and atmospheric conditions. The conservation status of New Zealand’s long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) is Threatened-Nationally Critical.

Sampling bias can have dire consequences for research. One potential source of bias is combining different sampling methods in the same study. However, combining methods can be unavoidable, for instance, when sampling method selection depends upon factors such as population density or terrain. A case at hand is the use of night-time encounter catching by people or daytime catching using certified dogs for studies of Apteryx mantelli, North Island brown kiwi, in Aotearoa New Zealand.